Newscasts - Air-conditioned jackets help keep Tokyo workers from sizzling
09/07/2025 07:49
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_fkv8t8ub&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW840409072025RP1_K15&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - General news videos' Description: Japan endured another day of a searing heatwave on Monday (July 7), with temperatures soaring to the highest this year in Tokyo and leaving those having to work outside vulnerable to the risk of heatstroke. But, at an apartment construction site in Tokyo, workers for Daito Trust Construction donned puffy air-conditioned jackets equipped with cooling fans on their back while at work. Syakir Jasnee reports. Short Link: https://refini.tv/4lKISf4 Video Transcript: At this construction site in Tokyo, temperatures soared above 95 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time this year, on Monday. But in this scorching heat, workers for Daito Trust Construction donned puffy air-conditioned jackets equipped with cooling fans on their back as they worked. The company developed a custom-made jacket with a construction supplies manufacturer. The jacket has round-shape thermoelectric devices near the armpits, which become cool, helping to mitigate heat. Construction Worker, Atsushi Mizutani, is impressed with his jacket. It feels totally different. When I wear this vest, I don't sweat as much, so I don't lose physical strength, and my body temperature is completely different when I get home. The extreme heat, which has become a norm in summertime Japan, has turned into a major workplace hazard and construction workers are particularly at risk of heatstroke. They accounted for nearly 20% of deaths or illnesses caused by heatstroke in the workplace in 2023, labor ministry data showed. The overall number of heatstroke cases at work more than doubled that year from a decade ago. This prompted the government last month to roll out labor safety regulations requiring companies to implement protection measures against heatstroke. Another worker, 57-year-old Takami Okamura, has noticed a change in the temperature over the years. In the past, we didn't wear air-conditioned jackets or anything like that and there weren't as many cases of people collapsing as there are now. In recent years, air-conditioned jackets and other such items have become a necessity, which makes me realize just how hot it gets. Besides jackets, the company also installed a live camera and a weather meter at the top of the construction site to monitor the heat index in real-time, according to the construction site Manager Toru Suzuki.